Vitol, Total Snap Up North Sea Oil at Fastest Pace on Record

Vitol Group and TotalEnergies SE are hoovering up key North Sea crude supplies, part of the biggest spate of activity in almost two decades for barrels that help set global oil prices. 

Over the past three days, Vitol, the world’s top independent oil trader, and French oil giant Total have snapped up 11 out of 17 cargoes that changed hands in a key pricing window run by Platts, a unit of S&P Global, according to traders and brokers. 

The deals follow frenetic derivatives trading on Jan. 30, the most recent expiry period for Brent contracts, when both firms were very active. 

While the precise reasons for the deals aren’t clear, dominant expiry buyers will often follow up by snapping up North Sea cargoes, tightening near-term supply and steepening the market’s price curve as cargoes get locked up.

Expiry sessions often set the tone for physical markets in the following month, as traders settle, or roll over, a host of associated contracts tied to actual barrels.

European oil markets have been unexpectedly strong so far this year, despite expectations for a global surplus. Supplies from Kazakhstan, a market that competes with North Sea oil, have severely disrupted, helping to tighten the availability of crude in the region, traders said.

Spokespeople for Vitol and Total declined to comment.

February Kazakh crude loadings have been revised down by about 300,000-400,000 barrels a day, while bad weather in other parts of the region has also curbed the availability of crude, especially from Algeria. There was also a winter storm in the US that disrupted American output, while traders are continuing to fret over whether US President Donald Trump will launch a renewed attack on Iran. 

There hasn’t been a three-day period this busy in data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 2008. Less than a week into February, volumes are already comparable to other full months.

It’s not unusual for traders to take large positions in the North Sea market, whose Dated Brent benchmark underpins about two thirds of global oil pricing. But the bets can be risky. Gunvor Group raised eyebrows with bidding in summer of 2024, which the company later said the trade didn’t go according to plan.

Big Buying

Vitol and Total were the most active buyers during the most recent expiry.

Derivatives activity surged to multimonth highs on Jan. 30. A total of 56 April trades were recorded of so-called exchange-of-future-for-physical contracts that allow traders to swap futures for real-world barrels — the most since at least April 2023. Total and Vitol bought a total of 40, according to data compiled by Platts. Each trade represents 700,000 barrels. 

Another instrument — cash Brent spreads — also saw heavy activity at expiry, with 32 March-April spread trades completed, the most since April 2023. Vitol and Total were buyers of 25 trades. 

The strong activity has translated into a bullish structure in weekly swaps contracts that help gauge the strength of the physical market. 

Brent contracts for difference are now in deep backwardation, particularly at the front end, with the week one–week six spread at $2.97 a barrel on Feb. 3, the widest since August 2024, according to data from PVM.

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